Commissioners approve change order using contingency funds for Northwest Regional Water Treatment Plant upgrade

Greene County commissioners on Sept. 11 approved the spending of owner contingency funds and authorized the county administrator to sign change order No. 14 for the Northwest Regional Water Treatment Plant upgrade, a measure staff said will address chemical-feed crystallization and improve long-term operability.

A county staff presenter described two primary items in the change order: adding an inline heater to prevent a treatment chemical from crystallizing in the feed lines and switching chemical-feed pump types. “Mainly, this is around, in the very expensive inline heater that we need to add to, keep the chemical from, crystallizing in the line. Oddly enough, it freezes at 60 to 65 degrees. Our water that we're mixing it with is 55 degrees,” the staff member said. The staff presentation said engineers originally planned a hose-bib solution but the heater is a more robust fix.

The county approved use of owner contingency funds for the work and authorized the county administrator to sign change order No. 14; Commissioner Gould voted aye and Commissioner Mays voted aye, and the motion passed. Staff said this approval does not increase the project budget—contingency funds will cover the expense.

The change order is intended to reduce maintenance and operational issues that staff expect from crystallization and to provide a more durable chemical-feed solution. Staff did not provide a dollar amount for the change order during the meeting.